Child Rights Activist and the Executive Director/Founder of Morna International Children’s Foundation (MICF), Bukola Afolabi Ogunyeye, has won an award from Baobab Awards under the category of “Community Building”.
Baobab Awards is a Hungary based Organization with Affiliation in London.
While sharing the exciting news on her facebook page, she said:
It was double celebration for us in my family yesterday as I received an International award from Baobab Awards under the category of “Community Building”.
Baobab Awards is a Hungary based Organization with Affiliation in London.
It feels so good to be a recipient of this award. This is my first award in my Humanitarian work.You see ehn, It is difficult to run a cause in a Country like Nigeria and be “straightforward” with it cos money doesn’t come in like that, yet you have a burden, and if you choose to do it without compromising in anyway, be sure you can never make money from it. You will sweat seriously.
NGO is not business, I can say that categorically but it is possible to make it a Business venture for those who want to do it that way. Me, I am not like that. This NGO work is like Slavery sef, but it is a good kind of slavery you enter into yourself because there is a burning passion in you to do something for the cause of Humanity.
Getting rewarded in this manner is a huge encouragement for someone like me who don’t make money from what I do yet I carry the work on my head like gala.
I remember sometime in June last year, I got a call from a woman who said she had got my contact from a School owner. It was one of the Schools I have been at to speak and empower the children against Predators somewhere at Ketu. She asked for our website address that she needed to see it first then arrange a meeting with me.
I agreed to meet her, we met at Chicken Republic and we ate “chicken periperi” with chips all on her own expense.
A big woman, highly connected, she told me about some International Organization who fund NGOs with credible activities through some Consultants and how they are about to fund NGOs. She said the money would be coming in quarterly. She mentioned the amount and the “sharing formula”, what percentage would go to the “Consultants” abroad, her, and me.
Sincerely, I didn’t have any issue with the sharing formula ‘cos I don’t know the people in the Abroad, they only wanted to help but I asked to know the name of the “International Donors”. I wanted to know the source where the money was coming from?
Here was dollars about to be wired into our account and our own share would be about one million Naira in Nigeria currency, which would be coming in quarterly, yet I was still asking questions? A poor NGO that has no money?
That first amount was enough to take care of at least 10 seminars which we hold in the Foundation. It meant that about 3.5 million Teenagers would benefit from the money. I had done serious mental calculation, the Foundation really needed the money but I was not desperate.I wanted to know the source ‘cos every Donor should have a name and should be verifiable online just like our activities are online on our website which led to the meeting at the first place..
They said they didn’t want me to go through the back yard door and agitate with the organization. Lol…… Fine. I let it go.
I am sure the woman would be wondering what kind of person I am, person see free money, she didn’t jump on it?
I didn’t even bother to ask her about it again. I will not soil my name because of money. It is the Foundation’s account the funds will go into, not theirs and I am the one EFCC will come and arrest if the fund was not a clean one.
Haters will now have the mouth to say, Ah! Those NGO people, that is how they do money laundering and they will be saying they are doing NGO.
That was how I made “haters score 0 and I scored 100%”………I am writing this alongside this award because amidst our very low resources, we have been imparting greatly and our effort is now being recognized.
Faith Ogochukwu Silver , thank you so much for the nomination. We don’t know each other beyond Facebook,(I met you for the first time yesterday) we have never had any form of private conversation, yet you nominated me for this?
May you shed tears of joy for the rest of your life……Tears fell from my eyes that day you in boxed and told me about this award. *Coversface*
So Bukola Afolabi Ogunyeye is now an “Award winning” Child Rights Activist. You can also say an award winning Bitter Nigerian feminist, everything goes. We are alright after all.
And………. this came at the right time. It came at a time it would seriously boost something I am working on. Yipppiiieeeeee!
It is true that God can NEVER forget our labour of love.
So I dedicate this award to the NIGERIAN CHILD……….
Eyin temi, let us celebrate this great feat.
We are going to dance to Yinka Ayefele. We will dance and “ju di” .
B’eru ba mo nu ro ni, a dupe, B’e ru ba mo nu ro ni a dupe
Baba o sheeeeeeeyyyy
Baba o shey!
B’eru ba mo nu ro ni a dupe
d:t:l:m:s:f:r: d:d:d:r:m
(Olorun ayo) Jah Jehovah! Oba ale wi le se, iwo lo fi lokan
bale wipe kin ma beru
Alagba wi, Baba wa gba mi o ee
Iwo lo sore ana, ore esi mare, Lodun ta wa yi
Ida ju to po, wipe wa si se t’ola
Baba wa gba ko so o
(Olorun ayo)
Ohun to ba wu kaiye wi,, ohin toba wu koso
Emi o ma wo, Eni to baka, Sebi ohun loni rora
Kin sa ma te si waju oooooooo
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